In June 2006, seventeen scientists and educators selected by the National Academies, the Academy of Sciences of Iran, and the Académie des Sciences of France held a workshop at the estate of the Fondation des Treilles in Toutour, France, to discuss issues concerning the role of science in the development of modern societies. Science and Technology and the Future Development of Societies includes the presentations made at the workshop and summarizes the discussions that followed the presentations. Topics of the workshop included science and society issues, the role of science and engineering in development; obstacles and opportunities in the application of science and technology to development; scientific thinking of decision makers; management and utilization of scientific knowledge; and science, society, and education. This book also provides useful background for the further development of interactions of Western scientists and educators with Iranian specialists.

In June 2006, seventeen scientists and educators selected by the National Academies, the Academy of Sciences of Iran, and the Académie des Sciences of France held a workshop at the estate of the Fondation des Treilles in Toutour, France, to discuss issues concerning the role of science in the development of modern societies. Science and Technology and the Future Development of Societies includes the presentations made at the workshop and summarizes the discussions that followed the presentations. Topics of the workshop included science and society issues, the role of science and engineering in development; obstacles and opportunities in the application of science and technology to development; scientific thinking of decision makers; management and utilization of scientific knowledge; and science, society, and education. This book also provides useful background for the further development of interactions of Western scientists and educators with Iranian specialists.

An anthology of writings by thinkers ranging from Freeman Dyson to Bruno Latour that focuses on the interconnections of technology, society, and values and how these may affect the future. Technological change does not happen in a vacuum; decisions about which technologies to develop, fund, market, and use engage ideas about values as well as calculations of costs and benefits. This anthology focuses on the interconnections of technology, society, and values. It offers writings by authorities as varied as Freeman Dyson, Laurence Lessig, Bruno Latour, and Judy Wajcman that will introduce readers to recent thinking about technology and provide them with conceptual tools, a theoretical framework, and knowledge to help understand how technology shapes society and how society shapes technology. It offers readers a new perspective on such current issues as globalization, the balance between security and privacy, environmental justice, and poverty in the developing world. The careful ordering of the selections and the editors' introductions give Technology and Society a coherence and flow that is unusual in anthologies. The book is suitable for use in undergraduate courses in STS and other disciplines. The selections begin with predictions of the future that range from forecasts of technological utopia to cautionary tales. These are followed by writings that explore the complexity of sociotechnical systems, presenting a picture of how technology and society work in step, shaping and being shaped by one another. Finally, the book goes back to considerations of the future, discussing twenty-first-century challenges that include nanotechnology, the role of citizens in technological decisions, and the technologies of human enhancement.

Provides a comprehensive introduction to the human, social and economic aspects of science and technology. It is broad, interdisciplinary and international, with a focus on Australia. The authors present complex issues in an accessible and engaging form. Invaluable for both students and teachers.

Science, Technology and Global Problems documents the proceedings of the International Symposium on Trends and Perspectives in Development of Science and Technology and their Impact on the Solution of Contemporary Global Problems held in Tallinn, USSR on January 8-12, 1979. This compilation discusses the character of global problems in the year 2000, prospects of development of leading branches of science and technology, and its capacity to solve global problems. The topics include global problems in the year 2000 and the role of science in their solution; science and technology as factors for future global development; road to scientific-technological culture; and responsibility of scientists in the period of crisis. The energy situation in the world (problems and prospects); mathematics and progress in science and technology; role of information and communication in the solution of global problems; and global public health problems and ways of resolving them are also deliberated in this text. This book is a useful source for students and researchers conducting work on the development of science and technology in solving global problems.

Science, Technology and the Future is an analysis of the problems of and prospects for the development of science and technology and their role in society. Drawing on the perspectives of Soviet scientists, this book examines the relation between society and nature as well as the prospects for resolving ecological problems with the aid of science and technology. This book is comprised of 33 chapters and begins with a discussion on the role of science and technology in modern society and their place in the solution of global problems. The axiological and ethical aspects of the development of science and the mechanism of scientific and technical progress, economics, and social development are also considered. The next section deals with concrete questions pertaining to the development of natural and technical sciences and their significance for the future of mankind, with emphasis on the role of science in the development of productive forces; the state of and the prospects for resolving the energy problem; the most important achievements in the leading branches of physics, chemistry, and biology; opportunities for utilizing space research for man's daily needs; oceanology and geology in the year 2000; science and fertility of the soils; materials for the technology of the future; and prospects for the development of automation and man's place in future production. This monograph will be of interest to sociologists, environmentalists, and science policymakers.